Beverage service tank



Aug. 6, 1940.

J. o. JOHNSON BEVERAGE SERVICE TANK Filed Aug. 29, 1938 JOHN OJJOHN son BY 33 32 4 I 5 ATTORNEYS R w w .m /3 N 2 m 5 3 I G a 3 F m 2 H1 2 2 2 5 A m F f v w a a O 3 m m a 6 4- 2 III II H II 0. \N H w 3 G 2 .H 2

Patented Aug. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES BEVERAGE SERVICE TANK John 0. Johnson, Detroit, Mich.

Application August 29 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to beverage tanks for carbonated beverages particularly those tanks to which a cooling medium is applied and through which the beverage passes before reach- 5 ing the spigot or tap from which it flows into vessels for consumption.

In such devices one of the chief objections has been that no warning is given to an attendant or user of the imminence of exhaustion of the 10 supply.

In conventional beverage coolers, a coil or small tank is set into brine or cracked ice or other cooling medium and through this coil or tank the beverage passes from a keg, barrel, or

5 other supply to the spigot.

In the present device a small tank is used, as presenting certain advantages over a coil, and the invention applied thereto.

Among the objects of the invention is means 20 to give notice to the attendant when the supplt has been exhausted to the point where it becomes necessary to renew it.

Another object is a device of the sort which shall be simple in construction, efficient in opera- 25 tion, easy to clean and difficult to get out of order.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description and the accompanying 30 drawing in which Fig. 1 is a View in elevation of a tank embodythe invention.

Figure 2 is a partial vertical section through the tank and cover.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the valve. Figure 4 is a section on line 44 of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a section on line 55 of Figure 3. In the drawing, a suitable relatively deep narrow tank is shown at H], having an inlet at H 40 and an outlet at |2, the latter being a conduit leading from the bottom of the tank. The upper end of tank I is closed by a suitable cover removably fixed in place by means of suitable thumb screws IS, a suitable gasket being pro- 45 vided to produce a gas and liquid tight seal.

Fixed to the underside of cover |5 or made integral therewith isa valve body 20 of sufficient size to provide for a gas passage 2| and for the lugs 22 between which is pivoted the arm 23 of a float 24. The gas passage 2| is counterbored at both ends and the upper end, which opens to the outside, is threaded to receive one end of a small cut oifvalve 25, in the other end 55 of which is a suitable whistle 26. The valve 1938, Serial No. 227,238

25, of course, opens or closes the passage to the whistle.

At the lower end the counterbore is adjacent the lugs 22 and is threaded to receive a nipple 30 through which extends a valve member 3| Whose outer end is threaded to screw into a stirrup or yoke 32 embracing the float arm 23 and hinged or pivoted thereto by means of the pin 33 passing through the yoke and float arm.

The valve member 3| is headed at its inner end as at 3|a and has a shank portion passing through the nipple 30 of such size as to allow free passage of gas through the nipple when the valve is in neutral position. The upper face, however, of the head 3|a is rounded and in the bottom of the couterbore there is placed a rubber or other soft impermeable gasket 3|b having a central opening registering with the passage 2|. This gasket and the rounded end of the valve member 3| will constitute a gas tight closure for passage 2| when the float lifts and presses them together.

The lower face of the head 3|a also forms one member of a valve of which the seat is the inner end of nipple 30. This valve, however, opens toward the passage 2| and is not accurately fitted. When therefore the float is down, it will .always leak a small amount.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Assuming that the tank is enclosed in a suitable refrigerating cabinet and that a source of supply of carbonated beverage, for example, a keg or barrel of beer, is connected to the inlet I! and a lead to a suitable dispenser connected to the outlet 2, the tank will, of course, fill to such a point that the float 24 will be lifted and the valve 3|a3|b will be closed tight.

Any withdrawal of beverage will be of course replaced from the supply until the latter becomes exhausted. As soon as the replacement stops, the float will of course drop and open the valve 3|a3|b so that gas under pressure will escape through passage 2| and sound the whistle 26.

When, however, the float drops sufiiciently to close valve 3|a30, the whistle will continue to sound but less loud. This whistling is of course warning that the beverage supply is about exhausted. If it is desired to completely exhaust both supply and tank, the gas pressure may be retained by closing the cut off valve 25.

As mentioned above, as soon as the valve member 3l-drops to its lower seat on the nipple 30, the escape of gas is very much reduced and thereby the sound of the alarm also reduced. This valve 3|3fl however has an important function other than this. In the initial filling of the tank or in refilling of the tank after the greater portion of the tank contents has been exhausted, it greatly reduces foaming. If, when the tank is empty or nearly so, a fresh supply is allowed to run in through inlet Ill, with free escape of air or gas, the incoming beverage will form considerable foam and such foam will largely fill the tank, so that little or no solid liquid will be contained therein.

In the present case, however, the valve 3il--3l allows escape of gas very slowly until the float is lifted, so that the incoming beverage is little agitated and a minimum of foam is produced.

What I claim is:

A device of the character described comprising a valve body having a recess in its upper portion adapted to receive a gas operated alarm device or the like, a second recess formed in the lower portion of said valve body and a central passageway in said body placing said upper and lower recesses in communication, an elastic valve seat arranged in the lower recess and having an opening in substantial alignment with said passageway, a valve member extending into the lower recess and provided with a head and a shank, said head having an upper face and a lower face, an imperforate retaining nipple for said valve member arranged in said lower recess and. having a central port of materially larger diameter than said shank and through which the shank extends, and a float arm having a float thereon pivoted to said valve body adjacent said nipple, said valve shank being pivotally connected to said arm, the upper face of the head of said valve member adapted to seat in gastight relation against said valve seat when said float is lifted, and the lower face of said head adapted to seat imperfectly on said nipple when said float is lowered so that gas can readily flow upwardly through the port in the nipple, the opening in the valve seat and central passageway in the valve body whenever the valve head is disengaged from said valve seat.

JOHN O. JOHNSON. 

